ABSTRACT
It is proposed that post-traumatic stress following victimization is largely due to the shattering of basic assumptions victims hold about themselves and their world. The impact of victimization on three particular assumptions (i.e., the belief in personal invulnerability, the perception of the world as meaningful, and the perception of oneself as positive) is discussed. Coping with victimization is presented as a process that involves rebuilding one’s assumptive world. Specific coping strategies are discussed in terms of how they help rebuild particular assumptions; there is a focus on the phenomenon of self-blame, a coping strategy that is surprisingly adaptive in terms of reestablishing shattered assumptions.
